Tyler Byrne having up and down year as a sophomore in U of L cross country

Tyler Byrne left quite a swath in cross country when he ran for the North Harrison Cougars from the 2006 season to the 2009 season.
He helped to lead his team to a fifth place finish and a spot at the podium in the 2009 IHSAA State Meet at Terre Haute. He also garnered several individual awards for his four years as a Cougar, but he eventually moved on to run for the mens’ cross country team at the University of Louisville. He had a successful freshman year, and this year started off with a bang. On September 17, Byrne led the then 19th ranked Cards to a fourth place team finish that Saturday afternoon in the Navy Invitational, with a second place individual showing. He ran the course with a time of 24:22.60, and he even slowed down to get the other runners on the team to run with him as a pack. He eventually gained some of the ground he had lost, and made some spots up in the rankings himself. It was the second fastest 8,000 meter time of his career. On October 1st, he won the individual title in a meet at U of L’s home course of E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, and led the then 27th ranked Cards to a second place in the men’s standings behind champion Purdue. He was only the second Cardinal to win the particular meet as an individual. He placed with a time of 23:47.12 and won his second collegiate victory. The days later, Byrne was named the Big East Conference Mens’ Cross Country Athlete of the Week, and was Byrne’s first collegiate honor and the first of the season for the Cards. As recently as November 1, U of L was third at the Big East Meet at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park, and Byrne himself was in 18th place. “The season started out pretty good for me,” said Byrne. Recently, Byrne said that he has had a few physical ailments. His ankle has been giving him problems, and he didn’t finish the race Saturday at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park due to the problem. It was the NCAA Regional Meet that was being run. “I’ve been having a few problems here recently, but I’ve been trying to work through them,” he explained. “I was hoping it was going to work out,” said Byrne. Byrne said he will just take it easier for the time being, and he will just simply back off. Whether or not an athlete can compete with an injury is of course a case by case basis issue, according to Byrne. He will wait and see. “It depends on how bad of an injury it is, and how much it bothers you,” he explained. Despite any stormy weather he might be encountering at the moment, he has enjoyed the college experience so far, he said. “So far, I’ve really enjoyed my time,” Byrne said. “I think it will end up being a good time here.” Byrne also competes for the University of Louisville in both indoor track and indoor track. But he can’t help but regret not being able to finish the season in better physical condition. “I felt like I was racing well,” he explained of the earlier part of the season. “I was hoping to keep it going.”